Verizon jacks up broadband offering

Verizon Communications is getting more aggressive with its broadband offering. On Monday, the company announced it would be doubling the speed of its $30-a-month service. It also said it will add 11 new communities in Massachusetts to its list of fiber-to-the-home deployments.

The new $30 DSL service will offer downstream access speeds of 3mbps (megabits per second), up from the currently speed of 1.5mbps. Increasing the speed will put Verizon DSL on a par with cable modem services, which typically offer about 4mbps access. The new service is available to customers willing to sign a one-year contract or bundle DSL with phone service. Verizon also promised to add 11 more communities to its fiber-to-the-home service--which is dubbed Fios--in Massachusetts. Fiber connections will be able to deliver Internet access at speeds up to 30mbps. The company also plans to add television service over these fiber connections to compete better with cable operators and satellite TV companies.